Thank You For Your Time

Hello,

I'm a little surprised to find myself writing this post and in all honesty, I'm not a hundred percent sure what to say. You are probably aware that earlier this year I decided to take a break from blogging in order to focus on my studies until my a level exams were over. I followed that announcement by asking you to complete a survey on how I could improve my blog, earlier this month. However recently I read a book that I would highly recommend called "The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k" by Sarah Knight and the book has changed my perspective on so many things, I feel lighter and clearer minded. I feel happier and more comfortable in myself and above all, I feel ready to move forward with my life.

The next few months are very exciting and slightly frightening for me. I will be moving away with my girlfriend, Starting a whole new adventure at university and working towards my future, I have discovered minimalism and veganism and I feel like I'm starting to get a sense of understanding regarding my own values and passions. Initially I was really excited to share this journey of learning and creativity with you guys and I thought it would be a fresh chapter for my blog. But then I thought ... is this what I still want ? First it was just a thought at the back of my mind and slowly I felt a need to voice it and eventually I came to the conclusion that is time to say goodbye for good to Don'tBurstMyBubble. I have been blogging for the last three years of my life and I have loved every minute of it and I appreciate the support I have been given from readers old and new. When I started blogging, I was actually quite lonely. I didn't have many friends, I didn't have very much self awareness or any passions and blogging has really helped me learn so much about myself.

When I was starting to seriously consider stopping blogging , I discussed the matter with my mum ( where else do you go when you don't have a clue ? ) and she told me something that I think is very important, " Some things have a purpose when you start doing them, but it's ok to stop when they have served their purpose" . This rang true with me, blogging has helped my become so much happier and more confident in expressing myself  but now I really feel like I'm on the path into a good place and i feel ready to just enjoy my life. So maybe it's time to let go.

So. thank you for your time. I am so, incredibly grateful for every minute you have spent reading or commenting on this blog and I hope that I've made you smile once or twice.

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

P.s. It's been a pleasure.

Don't Burst My Bubble Survey | Summer 2017

Hello !

I've finished my exams and I am so happy to be writing again. I am really looking forward to sharing all my new ideas with and catching up on everything that has been going on in your lives . I am planning to take July as a months holiday now that my exams have finished and then on August 1st I will be back with new posts twice a week .

Until then I would really appreciate if you could find the time to answer this short survey. It just 10 multiple choice questions about what content you'd like to see coming up on Don't Burst My Bubble this summer. You can find the survey here :



Thank you in advance !

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

I'm On A Break !

Hello Lovely People,


I just want to start by saying that you're all the most wonderful people and I love you all to pieces and thank you for creating this lovely little blogging community.

Some of you may know that I'm an A-level student and in June this year I will be sitting the exams that determine whether I will get into university. I struggle with college work a lot, from understanding the work to having the motivation and focus required to sit down and do it. So, I hope you understand why I've made the decision to take a break from blogging. I have put in a lot of thought and consideration to this decision and decided that I will stop blogging ( and unfortunately won't have enough time to visit your lovely blogs either ) from today until the end of July. My exams finish on the 29th of June however I would like to take the month of July to spend some quality time with my girlfriend and learn who I am without the stress of exams and college and find out who I want to be now .

I will be continuing with yoga and part of me really would like to still share my yoga journey with you guys but I appreciate you're all very busy and as I won't have time to visit your blogs and considering I will not be posting my normal posts I thought I would leave this decision up to you. If you would still like me to post short weekly yoga updates then let me know in the comments ! I would love to continue them because I do them for myself and my own motivation as much as anything else but if nobody is interested then I will keep track of my progress in a personal diary.


I hope you all understand why I'm doing this. I feel that for the next four months I need to put all my energy into fighting this last fight and passing my exams. I will be purely focusing on my health and fitness and studying ( I feel the two things tie together ) and I will be removing all social media apps that distract me from my phone. Now is the time for focus.


I will be back on August 1st and ready to introduce a hopefully fresh and happy me who will be about to start a whole new adventure and I really hope you will all be their to join me !


I love you all lots and lots !


Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)


Love, Marianne xxx

The Person You Really Need To Marry

Hello, lovely people !

Happy Valentine Day! I know some people are cynical of valentines day but I think a day specifically dedicated to have nice it is to show love to everyone is a lovely idea. However I wanted to share something a little different this Valentines day, for those in relationships or single or anything in between.


Now, if you've been around for a while then you'll know how important I think self-love is. Looking after yourself and creating a healthy, happy you is the best thing you can do for both yourself and everybody else because to love somebody in the way that they need, you first need to love yourself.
I learnt everything I know about self-love on the wonderful blog Rainbow-Rose Blossom
So if self love is something that you'd like to apply to your life ( and I really recommend you do ) then please have a little read over at Rainbow's blog. You won't regret it, I promise !


A few months a go, I watched a video and it really affected my life in a positive way. This video was  a Ted Talk discussing "The Person You Really Need To Marry" and I urge you to watch this video because I just don't want any of you to miss out of the change this could make to your life.

Let me know in the comments what you think of the video! I'd also love to hear if there are any inspirational or interesting ted talks that you recommend because I'd love to see them !


Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

The Yoga Diaries | Week Seven

Hello, Lovely People!

So this week I was back at yoga class after a two week gap due to my girlfriend being in hospital. I was definitely excited to be back at yoga this week but the class was a little up and down as far as my ability went. As the class began I realised how achy and for lack of a better term "Not stretchy" my body was as a result of not doing yoga for two weeks ! I actually got concerned that I might have to leave the class and try again next week, but I persevered and everything quite quickly became easier, in fact I was immensely proud of myself by the end of the session! I felt I managed the whole of sun salutation A fairly well and I only had to go into child's pose once to take a break In the whole session ( I might be glossing over the fact that I stayed in child's pose so long trying to catch my breath that the instructor stopped the class to check ( and I quote ) that she "not broken" me ) . Overall I'm feeling pretty proud of myself and am going to try and do some very gentle yoga at home this week and see how that goes !

What went well: Sun salutation A went extremely well and I was really getting into the flow of it after a few goes ( I even demonstrated it to my very confused looking girlfriend when I came home and was telling her about my class )

What I need to improve: Allowing myself to enjoy the class

How I'm going to improve it: I found that when I focused on my breathing and exhaled and inhaled when the instructor told me to, the poses were actually much easier and much easier and more enjoyable. So I'm going to focus more on myself and trust myself to listen to and work with my body.


What have you done this week that you're proud of ? I'd love to hear about it in the comments !


Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

One Simple Way To Maintain an Exercise Routine

Hello, Lovely People !

In my February goals post ( You can find it here if you missed it ) I mentioned that this month, I would like to exercise at least 3 times a week. The more observant of you might of noticed that this was also one of my goals last month and I stuck to it for the first few weeks and trailed off a little in the last two. However when I was exercising and eating well I noticed a massive change in my energy and my emotions. I felt fantastic! I was full of energy and after the first week I was raring to go and excited for the next work out. Unfortunately you have to go through that rough patch to get there and there will always be days when you'd rather watch Netflix and eat a whole pizza to yourself than go to spinning class, but I've found a way to make sure you get that workout done EVERY. SINGLE.TIME. Using one simple technique; negotiables and non-negotiables.

A lovely woman told me about this techniques a few months ago but only recently have I began to practise it in my everyday life and see the benefits. Now, you might be thinking " What on earth are you going on about Marianne ? " but I promise this is worth your time.

What is a negotiable ?

Everything that you do in life falls into negotiables and non-negotiables. A negotiable is something that you can do but you have the option not to so even though it might be good for you, you may choose not to do it. This might include things like having a salad for dinner, going to the bank or even, yes, you've got it, exercise !

What is a non-negotiable ?

Meanwhile non-negotiables are things we just do because we think we have to. For example, brushing your teeth or changing your pants, these are things you don't even think about getting out of because it's just not an option in your head.

How can you use this ?

The trick is, you have to make exercise a non-negotiable. Make exercise something that in your mind is as essential as brushing your teeth. By removing the option to get out of it, you're far more likely to go.

How I use this.

 In my week of exercise I have three non-negotiables and one negotiable workout, so my week look like this :

Monday : Yoga Class ( non-negotiable )
Tuesday : Spinning Class ( negotiable ) I go spinning every other week
Thursday : Swimming (non-negotiable)
Saturday : Gym ( non-negotiable ) 


This way I give myself some flexibility but I absolutely will exercise three times a week in the same way I will brush my teeth twice a day, everyday !


So why not give it a go and let me know how you get on in the comments ? I'd love to hear from you so we can all motivate each other ! If you want to be kept up to date on my weekly exercise progress then follow my social media (links below ) because I'll be tweeting every time I exercise to make sure I'm getting my 3 non-negotiables every week.


Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)


Lots of love, Marianne xxx


Twitter : @MyHappyBubbleXx
Facebook : Don't Burst My Bubble
Instagram : myhappybubblexx
Bloglovin : Don't Burst My Bubble...

Monthly Goals | February 2016

Hello, Lovely People !

First thing's first, I just want to quickly apologise for not being around much over the last two weeks. My girlfriend was taken into hospital and so I have been a little busy and tired so I didn't get chance to write. She's feeling much better now and is back on her feet, so no need to worry, but if you could send her some love in the comments I know she'd appreciate it ! I also haven't been to yoga for a couple of weeks because of being at the hospital with my girlfriend so this Friday will be a normal post and then we'll get back on track next week !

Now we've got that bit of house keeping out of the way, lets get on with the post ! So, it's coming into February and although January was good, I feel like I was finding my feet a little and in February I am all prepared to give everything my best shot ! But before I set my goals for February, I'd like to reflect a little on January's goals.

Last Months Goals

1) Exercise 3 times a week

At the beginning of the month I did quite well but as my girlfriend was in hospital it all went a little haywire but we had a great time trying spinning ( even if our bums killed afterwards) and I was starting to improve again in yoga !

2) Take smoothies to college

This goal went really well, although we had a week off last week, I have picked it up again this week and I was really noticing a difference, I had so much more energy and actually started craving fruit.

3) Have more "Me Time"

I failed miraculously at this one, but I'm going to keep trying . What do you guys do in your me time ? I'd love to hear some ideas to help me out in the comments.

February Goals !

1) Exercise 3 times a week

This is sounding a little familiar but this month to keep myself on track I've decided to tweet each time I exercise each week and mark how many out of 3 I've done ! To be kept up to date with this you can follow my twitter @MyHappyBubbleXx and we can support each other !

2) Spend quality time with my girlfriend

I spend everyday with my girlfriend but we never get to spend some good quality time together and I wish we did. I mean time that we have set aside just to be with each other. I'm not sure how I'm going to make this work but I was thinking of arranging a date night each week.

3) Eating Healthily

In January I learnt two interesting things:
a) When I eat healthily I feel happier
b) Oreos are not an adequate breakfast ( Who knew eh ? )
So this month, to make myself feel happy I'm going to really focus on healthy eating because I feel so much better emotionally and physically when I'm eating well. If you guys would like to see some recipe posts then let me know in the comments!

4) Stay organised on my blog

This month, I'm going to post on time and be prepared and I'm going to set aside time to take quality blog photos in advance so that I don't let you guys down because you really mean the world to me and I don't think I tell you that enough but I really appreciate the support of all you lovely people who read and comment each week.

5) Study hard

I'm under a lot of pressure to do well at college and get into university and It's really getting to me but I don't seem to be able to sit down and focus on my studies. I think I could combat this by spending quality time on studying and removing myself from everything else for an hour a night.

So those are my goals for February ! I'm really excited to make some positive changes this month get myself focused. The key idea for this month is focusing on quality not quantity. Instead of freaking out and trying to do everything at once, setting an hour to purely focus on one thing like studying or being with my girlfriend or preparing and eating a nutritious meal. I feel a lot of this comes down to mindfulness so like forward to seeing more mindfulness posts coming up !


Let me know in the comments, what are your goals for this month ? Do you think quality or quanity is important ? I can't wait to hear from you ! Don't forget to follow me on twitter and other social media ( I'll leave links at the bottom of the post ) because I'm going to be a lot more active on there and will be using my accounts to keep us all motivated !


Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)

Lots of love, Marianne xxx


Twitter : @MyHappyBubbleXx
Facebook : Don't Burst My Bubble
Instagram : myhappybubblexx
Bloglovin : Don't Burst My Bubble...

The Yoga Diaries | Week Six

Hello, Lovely People!

This week at yoga I did feel a little stronger but nowhere near the strength that I want to be, but still, I was much happier with how long I held downward dog for. I think I'd like to start doing weights in the week but don't have the money to buy weights, any suggestions? I'm definitely not where I want to be but I'm on my way, it's easy to get down because you want to be somewhere but it's not the movies, we can't have a music sequence of me going from falling over onto the guy next to me to me being at the front leading the class in the grand total of one and a half minutes. Real progress takes time but I honestly believe it's worth it and I fully intend to follow through to find out if it's worth it so I will let you know when I get to the other side!  As for now, I shall tell you a little funny story about yoga this week! Towards the end of the class ( about 15 minutes before we finished ) two middle-aged men came in saying that they'd booked the room so badminton, so my yoga teacher explained that we were in the middle of a yoga class and that we'd be done in 15 minutes so could they come back then. In reply to this, the men said "It's okay we'll just watch" and we were all quite taken aback at the idea that these men wanted to stare at a bunch of young women in all sorts of positions. They then continued to stare and chat until one woman turned to then and said " Can you zip it for five minutes and get out! " it was hilarious, you should've seen their faces!

What went well: I really enjoyed the floor work today!

What I need to improve: My downward dog seems to have got worse again after it improved in week 3

How I'm going to improve it: There's a lovely lady in my yoga class who gave me some help with my positions a few weeks ago so I might ask her if she can show me how to do downward dog properly again before this week's class starts.

This is the ragdoll pose and it's good for lower back pain and I find it really calming to hold ragdoll for a minute or two whilst swinging gently from side to side! 

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

Five Easy Ways to Practise Self Care

Hello, Lovely People ! 

One of my Monthly Goals for January is to be kinder to myself. So, today I thought I'd share with you five easy ways to practice self-care. It has become very clear to me that very rarely do we show ourselves the compassion that we show to others, which is rather silly considering how much you do every, single day. YOU deserve to be loved and respected by yourself. Practicing self-care isn't selfish or a waste or time, it's essential. Let's get going, shall we?

What Are You Excited About ? 

Ask yourself every morning " What am I excited about today ?". There should be something that you're excited about every day. It doesn't have to be big, some days it might be going on a date and others it might be going to yoga class. If there's really nothing then you'll know that you need to add something that makes you feel happy and excited to your day. Perhaps you could make a list of things that you do that make you happy and you could pick something off this list to do on the days in which you have nothing that excites you. 

A Lil Bit of Glitter 

Whether it's your favorite lippy or a pretty new top, glitzing our selves up always give us that extra boost! I was feeling really rubbish about myself last week so I went shopping and spent some to me finding clothes that I feel good in and I felt so much more confident wearing my new clothes it was unbelievable! You deserve to feel that good, I promise. 

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

If you look after your body and eat well and exercise well, you will be amazed on the improvement you feel in your mental well being in such a short space of time ( I'm talking days, seriously ! ). Making sure you're getting the correct nutrients that your body needs is key to making sure that you feel great from the inside out. Think of it this way, think of your body as a petrol car, if you keep putting diesel (ie.junk food) into a petrol car it won't be able to run and will feel awful and sluggish.However, if you give it what it needs and fill it with petrol then the car will feel great and be bouncing around like a bunny! My point is, if you give your body what it needs, it will give you what you need. ( But please don't actually try and drink petrol hehe ) 

Me Time 

In our busy lives it can be hard to find time to just be with yourself, so try to schedule some time each week to sit with yourself and do something that you enjoy. You could go to a yoga class or do some cross stitching or read a book ! How do you like to spend your me time ? Let me know in the comments! 

Learn to Say No ... and Yes 

Firstly, trust me when I tell you that you do enough. It's okay to say no every once in a while. Too tired for that night out? Say no and have some rest. Don't have time for another extra-curricular activity? Say no, you're doing enough. On the other hand, don't turn down fantastic experiences that will make your heart race because you're afraid. Take chances and let yourself explore the world. Fill up your time with the things you love and nothing else. 

I hope these tips are helpful, I'd love to hear how you practice self-care in the comments and perhaps we can always learn something! 

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

lots of love, Marianne xxx

P.s. I'm very sorry for the lack of photography at the minute, I'm balancing A-levels with running a blog so I will sort this soon ! 

The Yoga Diaries | Week Five

Hello, Lovely People!

This week I went back to yoga for the first time following the Christmas break. I was a lil bit nervous about the session because if you recall week four of yoga did not go quite as well as I hoped because I went to circuit training first and was exhausted to the point of almost fainting by the first 15 min of Yoga. If you missed week four then you can read all about it here. So, it may not come as a surprise to you but this week I gave circuit training a miss and instead had some me time whilst my girlfriend went and then she had some time to herself whilst I went to yoga, I really like this new plan because it's helping me meet my January goal of having more me time. I definitely felt more capable in yoga and although I didn't feel as strong as I did in week 3 ( to be fair though that was a month ago ) I knew that I was holding poses for much longer and I even did a little better on the flow routines that I usually struggle on! I'm really looking forward to next week and improving my skills, I know I'm the worst in the class and that makes me feel a lil bit rubbish sometimes but it's okay to embrace being bad at something if it's making you happy.

What went well: I coped better with the fast pace of the flow routines.

What I need to improve: I feel like my lack of confidence in the class affects my focus and therefore my performance.



How I'm going to improve it: I'm going to buy some of my own equitment, only the basics like a yoga mat and a nice yoga top but enough to give me some more confidence. It will show myself that I am worth making an investment in myself because I do have the ability to be good at this if I keep trying no matter what everybody else thinks.

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

Monthly Goals | January 2017

Hello, Lovely People! 

Firstly, I'd like to apologize for my absence in the past two weeks. I moved house two days before Christmas, so unfortunately we could only get the wifi connected today. I promise there will be regular posts on a Tuesday and Friday from now on. 

If you’ve been around for a while, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of fresh starts. So, new year’s resolutions are right up my street! However, this year I’ve decided to try something a little new and although I will be setting five overall goals for the year, I will also be doing a monthly goal post each month where I will set a few little goals at the beginning of each month and will review my progress at the beginning of the next month. By doing this, I’m acknowledging that situations and needs change and develop throughout the year and by adapting to this I will be more likely to succeed and become the best version of myself! 

So, first I’m going to run through my new year’s resolutions/goals to achieve in 2017 and then I will let you know about my goals for the month of January. Ohh this is all very exciting! I’m certain that this year is going to be amazing because … well because that’s how I’ve decided to make it. 

My Goals For 2017 

1)Stop biting my nails

I’ve always wanted lovely long nails that I can paint and show off but I’ve never managed to stop biting my nails long enough to do it! I’m going to try to keep my nails painted because I think that helps me to avoid biting them so hopefully that will do the trick. If you have any tips that helped you to stop biting your nail’s then PLEASE let me know in the comments. 

2)Focus on healthy living 

This year I am determined to use eat far more healthily and exercise more so that I can give my body the nutrition that it needs and the exercise it deserves to keep me happy and healthy. I’m going to be blogging about this a lot in the new year, including my Yoga Dairies series that will be restarting next Friday when the classes restart after the Christmas break. 

3)Refocus my blog on healthy living for the mind and body

I want to really focus Don’t Burst My Bubble on self-care, mindfulness, looking after your body and positivity this year because I think it could definitely help me and hopefully a few of you guys as well.

4)Get into University 

This one is pretty self-explanatory but I’m very worried that I’m not going to get into the university of my dreams so I really want to buckle down this year and get in! 

5)Practise Self-care 

I’ve realized that I don’t spend much time focussing on myself and making sure that I’m happy, so this year I’m going to make sure that I have more me time. 

My Goals For January 

1) Exercise at least 3 times a week 

I'm hoping to achieve this by signing up to classes rather than just going to the gym on my own because I feel that way there's more pressure to stick with it. 

2)Take smoothies to college with me 

I worry a lot about the lack of fruit and veg in my diet, so, in order to change this I'm going to take a smoothie to college with me every day ( apart from Friday ) to help me get the vitamins my body needs to keep me happy and healthy. 

3) Have more me time 

I really want to focus on being kinder to myself this year. I was thinking of doing this by scheduling an hour or two each week when I get to just be with myself. I'm thinking of making a little "Me Time" Box with relaxing bits and bobs in, so if that's something you'd like to see on my blog then please let me know in the comments. 

I really hope you enjoyed this post because I had so much fun writing it and I feel that it has really benefited me in understanding what I want to achieve and how I'm going to do it! My inspiration for my monthly goals posts came from Kim's blog over at The Thirty Something Life so be sure to check her out. 

I'd love to hear from you in the comments. Let me know one new year's resolution and one goal that you want to achieve this month! I find it so interesting listening to people's plans to improve their lives. 

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

Lots of love, Marianne xxx